Catch You Catch Me
by rimshotstinger
Summary: Four years since the end of the series, in which Sakura and Syaoran stayed as friends, changes are happening to Kero and Yue, but Kero most of all. HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

Four years had once been the blink of an eye to Cerberus. In fact, fifty years had passed him by in the span of a single nap, yet now, the years seemed to stretch on, but that was good. It meant longer springs and summers: warm, breezy seasons that he hadn't taken the time to enjoy in the past, but which he found he quite liked. They were like Fiery and Windy had painted him into a beautiful picture together, where he would lose himself in the smells and sounds of the springtime carried on the gentle breeze; or drift away lazily at any hour, wrapped in the warm blanket of summer's heat. But he thought he liked spring the best, because it smelled the yummiest. Peach, plum, and cherry blossoms—the symphony of delicious smells that made him wish it lasted longest.

The cherry blossoms most of all.

But autumn and winter certainly had their good points too: you stayed indoors more often in those times, and that meant a chance to relive a hint of spring—his mistress smelled like her namesake cherry blossoms too, and he liked that. He hadn't even noticed until their third spring together, after she'd truly made the Clow Cards her own, when he'd started relaxing enough to enjoy the season itself and take it in.

He liked that he could do that now, that things were peaceful, with her.

His partner, Yue, didn't feel exactly the same about it all. He couldn't: Yue had loved their creator, Clow Reed..._differently_ than Kero had, and Kero knew it. He'd always really known it, he guessed, but never—

Cerberus grinned at himself for thinking of himself as _Kero_, a name his mistress had given him years before.

He didn't hold it against Yue, because it wasn't as if the guy didn't try. He was polite enough to their new mistress, and did as she asked on the rare occasions when she asked anything at all, and he worried about her—though he didn't like to admit the last part. But Kero knew that too, anyway. But Yue could never connect with Sakura as deeply as he had with Clow Reed, and there was nothing Kero could do about that, so why dwell on it?

But he found himself feeling sorry for Sakura, because after all, she deserved that too, he thought. He'd always believed in her from the start, and she'd proven him right time and again. During those times, it was often true that she'd prove Yue wrong about her, also. But no matter how much she accomplished, Yue could _not_ let go of his infatuation for their former master, and Kero couldn't really understand _that_.

...Right?

He guessed...he could come close enough to understanding. He liked to think that he and Sakura were more than he and Clow Reed and been, and more than friends besides. Kero and Clow Reed _might_ have qualified as friends—he wasn't entirely sure—but mostly he just...cared for him. It was the way the magic worked, after all. The Clow Cards themselves cared most for the person who had them signed and under contract, and the guardians were no different, he guessed.

Still, he liked to think that it wasn't all the magic, that he'd honestly made friends with Sakura first. Again, he couldn't really be sure, because after all, he'd never made friends before. He hadn't needed to. He was created to do a job, and loyally so, along with his partner. He knew each of the cards by the time he came into the world, and hadn't needed to forge friendships with them in such a human way.

But as much as Tomoyo probably longed for it, Sakura didn't stroke _her_ hair, and they were _best friends_. So he had to be something above that, because sometimes as she studied or did homework while he hovered absently beside her, she'd take the tuft at the end of his tail up in her left hand while the other hand wrote, and just sort of thumb gently away at it, caressing it and kneading it lightly between her thumb and first finger. He supposed it worked like one of those stress relieving balls you crushed in your hand.

As the years progressed, schoolwork seemed to get more difficult for her, and she was no prodigy to begin with. And she didn't do it all that often, but when a question came up that she had to stew over, or she came down with writer's block on an essay, the tuft seemed to help her through.

He didn't think she noticed, because she did it so absently, but it felt _very_ nice. It almost put him to sleep in mid-flight each time, and she would often only realize what she was doing—and, sadly, stop—because his relaxed breathing grew a little too heavy; somewhere, embarrassingly enough, between snoring and purring.

And sometimes, right after, before wakefulness could get a grip on him again, he'd float down and let sleep overtake him, either at the edge of her desk nearest her or, if he could swing it, on her lap. He liked that it was warm and her clothes smelled like her, like cherry blossoms, but it was okay, because they'd shared her bed before when she was younger, so he wasn't overstepping anything.

He wasn't sure if he dreamed it, but there were times when he'd half-awaken because he felt himself being pet, like a common house-cat. And he wasn't sure if he liked that...but he could _definitely _see why house-cats did.

So maybe Yue wasn't crazy, he'd just let it take him too far. Poor guy. Kero hated to think what he would be like if he'd become so attached to their master, old or new. He really didn't want to end up like Yue, stuck in the past while time passed him by. And it passed not slowly enough, not for humans like Sakura.

In the last four years, she had sprung up in height quite a lot, Kero thought, and already seemed altogether different from the child he'd first met. It wasn't just her height, or that her face was less rounded now, or that her neck was long and elegant...It was really hard to judge the effects of ageing, because Kero didn't do it.

But it was a big change. And in only four years. It was...the way of things.

Someday, they would do it all again, Yue and he. Humans didn't live forever—heck, four years made them seem like _entirely_ different people. Well, Touya and Sakura's father didn't seem to change like that, so maybe it was just children growing. But still, in however many years it would be, they would be sealed away again to await the arrival of the next master or mistress of Clow. And if he let what happened to Yue repeat with him he'd be...

Except thoughts of the inevitable end hurt Kero already. With Clow Reed, he hadn't really had the chance to think about it before it just...happened. But Sakura was his friend, his more-than-his-friend, and the thought made him miss her already.

Because they were friends...Friends was still okay...Yue had seen Clow as—

As something you shouldn't see your master as.

And no matter how cute they acted sometimes, or how much you liked being in their soft hands even though you'd never say that, or how soothing their breathing was while they slept right across the room, or how good they cooked, or smelled, or how they always thought to give you treats...it was wrong.

Because kids were all cute; and they were the soft hands of your _mistress_; and you were probably just really sleepy anyway; and anyone could learn to cook; and...and...

And it was _wrong_. And it was cruel and unfair and stupid and probably just his imagination—

_And it's wrong_...

_Right?_


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura started off not the least bit surprised that her dead mother was stroking her hair as she laid with her head resting in the woman's lap, because dreams always made the impossible seem everyday. Sakura's dreams were different, however, and though awareness soon came upon her like a cresting wave, she didn't wake, merely stayed in what she then _knew_ to be a dream. She guessed that when you were magic, things like that would sometimes happen. But something else had followed in the wake of her lucidity: the realization that this woman was _not_ Nadeshiko Kinomoto.

Though she hardly remembered her face firsthand, Sakura knew how her mother felt...somehow. And she'd always expected her to smell like the flower after which she was named. Instead, the scent that reached Sakura's nose was that of grass and soil, but more intense, as if both had been freshly rained on. It was a nice smell, like the gentle person above her was wearing a spring day itself, draped over her like a dress; but it was not her mother's scent. She knew that.

So she reluctantly brought her head up, coming face-to-face with a beautiful woman with dark hair styled in an updo which spiralled off to the left and right in large chutes, from the bottom ends of which dangled green crystals. Together with her thin chin, it gave her head the overall shape of an upside-down triangle, but it was elegant nonetheless.

Earthy.

The Clow—or rather, Sakura Card, smiled warmly at its mistress, not seeming bothered at all by her hair-stroking being disturbed. It was a little strange, considering the Card's aggressiveness during their first encounter, that the woman seemed so gentle and kind.

Sakura noticed that they sat together in an all-encompassing blackness of dream-scape, the only other object being the stump on which Earthy sat, with roots that disappeared into nowhere. Suddenly, the woman lifted a hand to gently caress Sakura's cheek, and the touch was as warm and soft as anything her own mother might have given. She felt...loved by the Earthy, which she guessed was part of being the Mistress of Clow, as Kero-_chan_ had explained.

Then an orange light came into Earthy's eyes, which Sakura realized was being reflected from behind her. Her back felt hot, and she spun around to meet the Firey: a young, shirtless boy with long, pointed ears and bangs as white as his skin, which hung down on either side of his face in two long forelocks. The rest of his hair was simply flame, as were the angelic wings on his back, but even his porcelain skin and bangs carried in them a hot glow, like a white shade on a lit lamp. He hovered toward her, nestled waist-deep in a pillar of flame. But as he drew closer until he was only inches away, she found that the fire didn't hurt even as it licked at her legs.

He shot her a mischievous smile – the only kind he ever wore – and then leaned in to touch lips with her: it was a quick, strictly-lips affair; the curious peck of an innocent young boy.

It only lasted for a brief moment before she jerked away in surprise. It had been hot on her lips, though not enough to hurt, and in it she'd felt a passion befitting the Firey. She touched her fingertips to her lips, which were still warm, as the boy simply gazed at her, looking confused, but not hurt.

Why had he done _that_?

Then Sakura remembered that her dreams often meant something, even letting her glimpse the future at times. But for the life of her, she could not figure out what it could mean that Firey had just _kissed her_. She turned back to Earthy, who now looked upon Sakura with the same innocently bewildered expression, and it made her uncomfortable. Had she done something wrong? What were the Cards trying to tell her?

Before she could work it out, her eyes opened suddenly to show her her bedroom ceiling, and the dream was over.

Another thing about Sakura's dreams is that she always remembered them, and this one in particular would not leave her mind. It itched at it as she rose and changed into her school uniform, deciding it wasn't worth it to run out the few minutes left on her alarm clock, opting instead to shut it off before it sounded. Sixteen, and still she almost never beat her alarm, so she felt kind of proud, even if the reason why she had was a strange one. As usual, Kero-_chan_ arose from his own place inside the bottom drawer of her desk, which he opened by magic.

He yawned widely. "This is strange for ya," came his cute little voice in its Osaka accent.

Sakura felt herself go slightly pink. "I...had a dream," she told him as she twisted her hair-ties onto either side of her head, deciding on the dark blue ones.

Kero-_chan_ made a noise that meant he was interested. "Oh, was it a premonition dream?" he asked innocently.

"I don't think so," she answered as her faced warmed even more, "but I'm going to use Dream when I get back to find out." Normally, she let things like that run their course, but _this_...this was just too weird.

Kero-_chan_ went silent at that, which was odd for him.

"Kero-_chan_?" she asked after watching him float, unfocused, in her mirror while she finished.

He blinked back to reality. "Yes!" he said with surprising enthusiasm. "Dream's a good idea."

Sakura smiled. "I thought so," she agreed as she wheeled around to face him properly. The suddenness with which they were face-to-face seemed to startle Kero-_chan_, who hopped in the air and squeaked a little. He blushed, probably ashamed at having been caught off-guard like that. "Now stay here today. I'll bring you up some cake I made yesterday," she told him before leaving to fetch his breakfast and lunch, which would probably mean the whole cake, but she didn't mind.

* * *

Now she was going to get him _cake_? Man, she was so nice...

Wait, did she know something was different?

_Was _something different?

Kero was still unsure, but judging by how readily his mind had jumped from hearing Dream's name to forming a plan, he thought something probably was.

That was _not _good. Not good at all.

He tried not to look at her as she set the beautiful, delicious-smelling strawberry shortcake on her desk along with a fork. He hadn't expected _all_ of it, but he wasn't about to refuse or let any go to waste either. If she expected him to eat the whole thing, he wouldn't disappoint her. He let himself get lost in its delectable image so as not to be distracted by her instead, and his mouth quickly started to water.

But then, all of a sudden, something completely new and unexpected happened: on her way out the door, a soft pat on his head accompanied her usual goodbye. Just one.

As soon as Kero heard the door shut, he let himself fall over backwards onto the desk, his legs weak. He felt dizzy and dazed, and the feeling of her hand on his head didn't go away as he stared up at the ceiling.

Why? Why was all this happening today?

Not that he thought that they were bad things, but they hadn't stopped being _dangerous_ things. He thought again of Yue and his sad predicament, even if he and Touya...

Right, he still needed to discuss is plan with Yue. Dream was a Card under Yue's protection, and Kero needed that sway for his idea to work. He still felt guilty about it, but—but it was already too much. If he could, just once...Maybe that would help him calm down, make him come back to his senses. He realized the danger of it backfiring and going completely the other way, but right now, anything was better than wallowing in his own tangled mess of feelings, all anxious and boggled.

With that, and three healthy slices of yummy cake, Kero took off, chiding himself for disobeying Sakura. But...

"This is a poor course of action," Yue said with his trademark know-it-all coolness.

Things were so much simpler now that Yukito, Yue's borrowed form, was aware of his other self, and of Kero. It made contacting his partner much more convenient, as did the fact that Yukito was now out of school.

"Did I say anythin' to _you _about Clow Reed?" Kero confronted the angelic man, feeling defensive. He feared that explaining the reasoning behind his plan out loud might cause him to work out how ridiculous and self-serving it was, so that was all he could do.

Yue was coldly silent for a spell, during which he fixed Kero with a venomous glare. "It is not wise to trick our mistress," he told Kero simply, wilfully ignoring what he'd asked.

"It's not _trickin_', it's..." and Kero paused, lacking a better word. Already his plan was showing its true colours..."Please?" he begged, cast-fallen.

"I cannot see why you do not simply speak with her," answered Yue, crossing his arms in front of his chest and closing his silver eyes.

"For the same reason you never told Clow Reed," Kero said, and let the words hang for a bit. "I need your help, okay? Will ya do it?"

For a long time, silence. And then, finally...

"I'm not the Card's master, I can't make it influence you now as we are now," Yue pointed out, eyes still closed.

"I'll stay in my borrowed form," Kero put forth, "that way, your power will be able to overwhelm mine since mine's all bottled up."

"I cannot control the Dream while Sakura does the same," Yue observed.

"Ya don't need to," Kero said rather desperately, "ya just gotta make it so it'll let me in too, 'kay?"

"...Fine," came Yue at last, peevishly. But Kero couldn't care less whether or not he did it with gusto, so long as he did it.

"Thank you, Yue," said Kero sincerely. Yue let the thanks bounce off of him unheeded.

"Just be there at the right time," he ordered. "And Cerberus," he continued, taking on an inquisitive tone, "have you noticed anything...odd about yourself lately?"

Kero wasn't amused. "Are ya makin' fun of me?"

Yue sighed. "Nevermind," he said.

* * *

Kero was used to walking on two legs in his borrowed form, but human legs were altogether different. He'd used these exact legs before, and had once resorted to going on all-fours instead, it was so awkward. They felt shaky, but maybe that was just because of what he was doing. What he was about to do.

As he delved deeper into the foggy dream-scape, the feeling of his real body – which was back in the waking world, being embarrassingly cupped in Yue's hands and pressed to his chest – never left the back of his mind. It was like a piece of string he was using to venture into the Maze Card without getting himself lost.

Then, off in the distance, he saw it: Firey's bright orange light, though it was barely a speck. He took off toward it, willing himself to stay on just the two legs, praying he'd reach the Card before Sakura found out _everything_.

As he drew closer, the orange light resolved into Firey's true form, who stood on one side of Sakura with Earthy on the other.

Come on, come on...

He wasn't going to make it! Sakura was already speaking with Firey, he could see, and that meant, soon, he'd be outed.

"Sakura!" he called before he could stop himself, the brat's voice ringing weirdly false in his ears. But it worked, and Sakura stopped short to face him.

"Syaoran?" she asked, stunned.

* * *

Things just kept getting more confusing, Sakura thought. Why was Syaoran here now? What did _this _mean?

The boy stopped and bent over to pant heavily as he reached her. After a moment, he came up, and she immediately recognized something off about him. Did that mean something too?

"Syaoran," she said, "your eyes..."

They were bright gold, not the dark brown they were in real life. They reminded her of ones she'd seen somewhere before, but she couldn't place it...

Syaoran seemed actually startled at her mention of them, though, and shut them tight for a second. He seemed to concentrate hard, and when he opened his eyes again, they were back to normal.

Strange...

"Sakura," he said longingly, and as he did, Firey and Earthy faded away, leaving the two of them alone. She briefly looked about to see where they'd gone, but her attention was pulled back to Syaoran when she noticed how close he'd gotten. She almost jumped at his proximity.

"Syaoran, what—"

But he didn't let her finish. He pulled her into a tight, desperate hug, and just held her for a very long time, in silence. She didn't hug back – she couldn't, she was too shocked – but that didn't seem to bother him. He dropped his head so that it came to rest between her neck and shoulder, and their cheeks touched. Then he squeezed her anew as he repeated her name into her ear, sending a chill to fall down her back.

"Sakura..."

She thought she should say something, tell him that she didn't like him in the way his tone said he liked her. Or maybe she should try to separate them and ask him what was going on...

But the way he clutched at her was so desperate, as if he was afraid she'd vanish as soon as he let her go. She felt bad for him, because he seemed sad.

"Sorry," she heard him say a little while later. "I know this isn't right," he told her, and lifted his head. Then, with what seemed like great trouble, he brought her to arm's length and looked into her eyes. His were gold once more.

"Syaoran, I don't..."

"It's okay," he said with a bemused grin. He seemed happily ashamed of himself. "You can wake up now..."

Then Syaoran started to glow. First a little, like someone was shining a flashlight under his chin, then a lot, until finally the golden light was so bright that Sakura had to close her eyes.

When she opened them again, she saw her ceiling.


End file.
